How many flowers does each guest actually need?

The baseline

Three stems per guest is the floor — enough for a sweet little posy, and the right size for a brunch or a bar that is one of several things happening. Six to eight stems is the sweet spot most people picture: a proper hand-tied bouquet that fills a vase at home. Eight to twelve makes a statement, and is where weddings and milestone parties usually land.

Why a six-stem bouquet still looks full

Composition does more work than count. A well-built bouquet is roughly a quarter focal blooms — the roses, gerberas, lilies your eye lands on — about a third supporting flowers, and the rest filler and greenery. Get that ratio right and six stems reads as generous. Get it wrong and twelve stems reads as a handful of flowers.

Variety matters as much as volume

Four to seven types is the working range: two or three focal varieties, one or two accents, and the greenery. Fewer than four and the bouquets start to look identical as the evening goes on. More than eight and the display gets busy and guests hesitate — which slows the whole bar down.

Always over-order

We bring more than the headcount — twenty percent above, plus extra for breakage. The last guest at the bar should have as much to choose from as the first, and there is nothing sadder than a bucket of stems nobody wanted.

Sizing your bar in one line

Multiply your guest count by the stems each person takes, add twenty percent, and that's the order. Fifty guests at six stems is 360 stems. If that number sounds like a lot, it should — it's what makes the bar look abundant in photographs.